CLIMBING A ROCK IN 1 LAT ISLAND. 229 



rank sinks to the ground." " Than, would to God, Sir," said 

 Wolfe, with a bitter smile— " would to God, Sir, the ground 

 would sink along with it, and leave us without further ado 

 to breast the waves of old mother ocean." "But since that 's not 

 likely to happen," I replied, "we had better settle which of us 

 shall go first. Come, shall it be a toss-up 1" " As you please 

 Sir." I gathered up a small piece of flat stone, and wetting it 

 on one side with my tongue, as I had often done at school, 

 tossed it twirling up into the air. " Wet or not wet," I cried^ 

 ** No wet ! " said Wolfe, and no wet it was ; so the lot to be first 

 in the perilous decent fell to me. "Warily, warily, sir," said 

 Wolfe, as I dropped over the edge of the precipice; "never 

 loosen your hands till your foot is firm." " My foot is firm 

 now," I replied; *'come along;" but scarcely had I unfastened 

 my hands from the edge of the rock, in order to allow Wolfe to 

 follow, than the faithless prop on which I rested began to tremble 

 beneath me. I tried to clasp some of the protruding angles in 

 my neighbourhood to save myself — but in vain; my weight was 

 too much for the stone on which I stood, which speedily 

 detached itself from the parent rock, and bounded with a loud 

 crash to the bottom. Never shall I forget the sensations of that 

 moment. I grasped at every angle I could reach; but all my 

 efforts could only retard, not stop, my downward progress; and 

 I was just about to give myself up to my fate, when I found 

 myself firmly grasped by the hair of the head, and looking up, 

 I saw Wolfe bending over the rock above me. 



With the support of his arm and my own exertions, I suc- 

 ceeded most unexpectedly in once more reaching the top. "Thank 

 God !** cried the generous fellow, when I again stood at his side. 

 **had you fallen Mr. Lascelles, I should never have forgiven myself. 

 No ; never shall it be said that Richard Wolfe permitted a boy 

 to precede him when danger was in the question. Come on. Sir, 

 follow me ; trust to my directions as to placing your feet, and 

 with God's help I hope we may yet reach the bottom in safety. 

 " Wolfe," I replied, "I dispute precedenee no longer ; go on — I 

 follow." With our faces turned towards the rock, and w4th the 

 utmost possible caution, we again commenced the descent, my 

 faithful comrade constantly calling out to me as we proceeded — 

 " Place your feet here, Mr. Lascelles, and here.** At length, 

 with considerable difiiculty, but in perfect safety, we reached 

 the bottom. The galley backed into the rock to receive us, and 

 we had just stepped on board when we were startled by the re- 



